TAMIU names All-Tournament teams

By Zach Davis, Laredo Morning Times
| on December 2, 2017

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times File

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The Dustdevils will likely be without forward Dan Milota this week after an injury last Saturday against Rogers State. TAMIU finishes up the first half of Heartland Conference play this week still searching forThe Dustdevils will likely be without forward Dan Milota this week after an injury last Saturday against Rogers State. TAMIU finishes up the first half of Heartland Conference play this week still searching for their first league win playing at No. 23 Dallas Baptist Thursday and hosting St. Edward’s Saturday.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

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TAMIU guard Tantashea Giger earned All-Tournament Team honors along with center Veshae Asaua-Wilkinson leading the Dustdevils to their first two wins of the season at the Courtyard Marriott Classic in LaredoTAMIU guard Tantashea Giger earned All-Tournament Team honors along with center Veshae Asaua-Wilkinson leading the Dustdevils to their first two wins of the season at the Courtyard Marriott Classic in Laredo this week.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times

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Xabier Gomez was an All-Tournament team selection scoring 36 points in two outings.

Photo: Courtesy Of TAMIU Athletics

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Veshae Asaua-Wilkinson picked up 25 points and 20 rebounds in two games.

A day removed from their men’s and women’s basketball teams finishing up their respective two-day home tournaments, the Texas A&M International athletic department announced the top performers from all participating teams.

TAMIU announced five players for each All-Tournament team from the Courtyard Marriott Classic. The Dustdevils had two players on each award list after its teams went a combined 4-0 at the events.

Junior guard Xabier Gomez and senior forward Dan Milota were TAMIU’s representatives on the men’s side as the Dustdevils had a pair of dominant wins. Gomez finished with 36 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in the two-day span as he rebounded from his worst game of the season in a loss at Western New Mexico Monday. Milota ended the event with 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

The Dustdevils (5-4) impressed on both sides of the ball this week with a pair of memorable performances. The group began the Classic on Thursday with a 108-57 win over Paul Quinn, their most points scored in four seasons. They ended it Friday with an 81-36 blowout over Arlington Baptist, their fewest points allowed in six years.

Despite already playing three times this week, TAMIU is back in action Sunday. The Dustdevils host Southwestern Adventist at 3 p.m.

On the women’s side, TAMIU saw Tantashea Giger and Veshae Asaua-Wilkinson each qualify for the All-Tournament team. Giger dominated the event with 47 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Entering play as the No. 2 scorer in the Heartland Conference, Giger had a pair of 20-point efforts including a season-best 26 points Friday against Huston-Tillotson.

Asaua-Wilkinson returned from missing the last four outings due to concerns over previous concussions. She was cleared this week and came up big recording 25 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks during the Classic. Asaua-Wilkinson also helped the Dustdevils win the rebound battle the past two games - three straight including Monday - after only winning on the glass twice all last year.

The Dustdevils (2-8) finally picked up their first victory of the season Thursday at the Classic. Then they won again Friday, not only matching last year’s win total but also recording back-to-back victories for the first time in two seasons. TAMIU won 84-59 to open play against Arlington Baptist before pulling away from Huston-Tillotson 87-77.

With wins in the previous two outings against non-NCAA schools, the Dustdevils will now focus on playing an NCAA Division I school for the second time this season. TAMIU heads to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-3) looking for a big upset to keep their win streak alive. They previously faced DI North Texas in an exhibition earlier this season losing 64-38 on Nov. 14, although the game was much closer than that as the deficit was two at halftime.

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